BigH,
Youre thinking so one dimentional. Theres lots of lakes and theres sure to be wind somewhere along the way to the gorge. I would bring everything. Im sure they make racks for the wagon. If its blowing 20 in Michigan or Kansas, youll be missing great sessions, maybe better than the gorge.

Your station wagon is FILLED? Then empty it, put all your WSing gear in it, put whatever else will fit, and hit the road. In a trip that long youll encounter every kind of wind imaginable. Do NOT drive past wind, as there are no guarantees youll catch strong wind in the Gorge. 87 liters is too much board for 35 mph wind; youll want to rent something smaller if it really gets windy. The rubber depends on when you come.
Mike \m/

Yeeup,,,,, you could nail on some plywood sides and write RIP with skull and X-bones on it and it would look like youre carrying a coffin, nobody will mess with it!
BigH,
Finding good wind in Nebraska would certainly be better than sitting a week in the gorge waiting for the wind. Wind doesnt always follow your plans.
Someday you may even realize that a good wife is hard to find too. Im sure NB has some of those too.

Two weeks in the Gorge can give you as much practice time on the small board as you might get all year at home. The 87 liters should be fine for a typical day at the more intermediate sites with 4.5-5.5 sails. Yes, you might be blown off the water some days, but you can always go to another spot or wait for the wind to back off. Yes, you may need a 6.5 and bigger board some days (or a mountain bike), but there is no excuse to be bored. Bring as many toys as you can, and some cash to rent the rest.
The water is up to 55 degrees, so you can sail in a 4/3 fullsuit with no booties, hood or gloves already. Ive even seen people in their 3/2 Shortsleeve suits on the warmer days this spring. The 3/2 should be fine by June, but bring the 4/3 for the Oregon coast year-round.

I disagree 1000%. No destination is worth blinders, IMO, especially if the objective is wind. Realize that weve seen the Gorge bake at >100 degrees and essentially no wind for 12 straight days in its best month, July . . . TWICE IN ONE JULY. MANY times Ive taken long road trips to one so-called windy destination, only to get skunked except en route. No way in hell Im cruisin by a windy body of water, knowing how unreliable ANY WSing spot this side of Maui or Arenal is. Just the opposite; my route is strongly influenced by lakes if theres any chance of sailable wind. Connecting blue dots on the map has gotten me marvelous sessions, sometimes days, on fresh and salt water over the years.

Ive traveled back and forth across the country for almost 20 years and having most of your gear is a great plus. You never know when you will find wind and water. Some of my best sessions were improptu stops for a few hours of sailing. Get some good racks for that Grisom mobile and pack it up. With a cargo box you can lock up your sails, booms, and extra gear leaving plenty of room inside for clothes, food, air mattress, etc. Locks for your boards are fairly easy to find or have built.

If you just want to bring minimal gear, a slalom/freeride board around 100-125 should suffice for most areas. Bring the smaller board in case of higher winds. If you get out here to the Gorge and need a smaller board, Windance has lots of good used boards for good prices. I spent $50 for a Watson gorge/slalom 86. I also found a 78 Cascade for $100. Both boards were is great condition and I sail them regularly.

You read my mind. Another great stop on that trip is Amistad Reservoir on the Tex/Mex border. Its far bigger than the water at Bird Island and Corpus Christi Bay combined, and often blows better. And Ive sailed Elephant Butte north of Las Cruces well over 100 days, once in overhead swell.

My border stop was not out of the way at all to someone passing through Las Cruces, as was the guy my post responded to. (Notice the post immediately below mine.) Our point was that driving past windy water makes little sense.

About that camping gear . . . is it bulky? Of the thousand-way-plus nights Ive slept in the wilds in the Gorge, I can count rainy nights or days on my fingers. Just sleep in that wagon with the windows and doors open, or on the ground if you prefer, and toss in more toys and less tent.

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